Infant car seats

ABSTRACT

An infant car seat comprises a back support portion and a leg support portion which merge together at a junction region and which afford respective retaining means. Overlying the junction region is a flexible contour modifying sheet with engagement means at each of two opposed ends. The engagement means at one end are inseparably engaged with the associated retaining means whereby the contour modifying member is not removable from the seat. The other engagement means then extends between the two retaining means spaced from the junction region and has a radius of curvature greater than that of the junction region.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to infant car seats, that is to say seatsin which infants are accommodated, and generally restrained by arestraining belt, and which are secured on a conventional car seat,usually by means of the seat belt which is provided for use by an adult.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Infant car seats comprise a leg support portion and a back supportportion, which usually form an integral unit, which are connected ormerge together at the base of the back support portion. At thetransition region between the two portions the seat usually has arelatively sharp curvature, that is to say a small radius of curvature.This is acceptable and indeed desirable for larger infants so as toinduce a satisfactory seating posture but can produce problems forsmaller infants. Infant car seats for newborn babies are typicallydesigned for infants with a weight of 3.2 kg and above but an increasingnumber of babies are being born with a body weight of significantly lessthan this, e.g. 2 kg or even less. When such small babies are placed ona typical car seat, they slump into the curvature of the seat and adopta posture which can be very uncomfortable and, more importantly, canlead to blockage of the infant's airway and thus potentially to death.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,307 discloses an infant vehicle restraint devicewhich is convertible between a cot and a seat. The restraint deviceincludes lower and upper shell portions which are pivotally connectedtogether to be movable between a planar configuration, in which theydefine a car seat, and an angled configuration, in which they define acot. The upper shell portion has a support surface and the lower shellportion has a further support surface for supporting the legs of theinfant which has a central hinge and is connected by means of straps tothe upper support surface. When the device is in the cot configuration,the lower support surface is bent at the hinge and adopts an angledconfiguration. When the restraint device is in the car seatconfiguration, the lower support surface adopts an upwardly inclinedplanar configuration.

Whilst the radius of curvature between the two portions of the knownrestraint device may be increased, this is only in the context ofconverting the restraint device from a seat to a cot. However, manyparents do not wish their infant to travel in a car in a prone positionand when in the cot configuration the known restraint device is toolarge to be received on a conventional car seat and secured by the seatbelt associated therewith. Furthermore, the known restraint device iscomplex and bulky and thus heavy and expensive.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an infantcar seat with a contour modifier which is cheap, simple and light andwhich may be used to modify the contour of a conventionally shaped seatso that it is appropriate for a baby of low weight and which may also bereadily rendered inoperative so that the seat is still usable by a childonce its weight has reached the value for which the seat was originallydesigned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention an infant car seat comprising a backsupport portion and a leg support portion which merge together at ajunction region is characterised in that each of the said portions hasretaining means and that a flexible contour modifying member, e.g. asheet of textile or plastics material, is provided having respectiveengagement means adjacent each of two opposed sides, the engagementmeans being engageable with respective retaining means, whereby thecontour modifying member then extends between the two retaining meansspaced from the junction region of the back support region and the legsupport region and has a radius of curvature greater than that of thejunction region.

Thus the seat in accordance with the present invention includes aflexible contour modifying sheet which may be secured to the seat acrossthe junction region thereby increasing the radius of curvature of thejunction region and rendering the seat suitable for an infant of lowbody weight of 2 kg or even less.

The contour modifying member may be wholly removable from the seat andonly connected to it when it is required but it is preferred for safetyreasons that it is irremovable from the seat and for this purpose one ofthe engagement means may be inseparably engaged with the respectiveretaining means whereby the contour modifying member is not readilyremovable from the seat, that is to say may not be removed withoutdestroying or damaging either the seat or contour modifying member.

The retaining and engagement means may be situated on the upper orsupport surface of the seat but this is liable to lead to discomfort ofthe infant and it is therefore preferred that they are situated at therear of the seat. For this purpose, it is convenient if portions of thecontour modifying member extend through apertures in the seat and in onepreferred embodiment the back support portion and the leg supportportion have one or more respective slots formed in it through whichrespective portions of the contour modifying member extend, theretaining means and the engagement means being thereby situated at therear surface of the seat.

The retaining means and engagement means may take various forms, e.g.cooperating portions of a zip fastener, cooperating studs and recessesor the like but in one simple form of the invention the said one of theengagement means is connected to the associated portions of the contourmodifying member and is unable to pass through the associated slotwhereby the retaining means is effectively constituted by the portionsof the seat defining the slot.

Similarly, it is preferred that the other engagement means is connectedto the associated portions of the contour modifying member and is unableto pass through the associated slot.

In one simple embodiment the said portions of the contour modifyingmember have a tube formed in them, e.g. by stitching or otherwisesecuring the ends of the said portions to an intermediate regionthereof, in which a respective bar is received which then constitutesthe engagement means.

The retaining means associated with the other engagement means maysimply comprise a surface which is inclined to the associated slot andwhich is positioned to be engaged by the other engagement means and thusto retain it in position.

In the simplest form of the invention the contour modifying means isthus movable between two positions, in one of which it is essentiallyflush with or engages the junction region of the seat and thus does notmodify its contour and in the other of which it is spaced from thejunction region and modifies the contour of the seat. It will, however,be appreciated that it would be a simple matter to arrange the seat sothat the contour modifying member is adjustable between three positions,in two of which it modifies the contour of the seat to different extentsso as to enable the contour of the seat to be matched more precisely tothe most desirable contour for the specific weight of the infant whichis to use the seat. Indeed, the contour modifying member could also besteplessly adjustable.

The present invention therefore provides a seat with a flexible contourmodifying sheet and what might be thought of as tightening means fortightening the contour modifying sheet and thereby modifying the contourof the seat. Thus according to a further aspect of the present inventionan infant car seat of the type comprising a back support portion and aleg support portion which merge together at a junction region ischaracterised in that a flexible contour modifying sheet is providedwhich is connected at one side in a non-readily removable manner to oneof the back support and leg support portions and is connected at theother side to the other of the back support and leg support portions bytightening means which may be moved or operated to tighten the contourmodifying sheet from a position in which it engages the junction regionof the back support and leg support portions to a position in which itis spaced from the junction region and constitutes a support surfacewhose radius of curvature is greater than that of the junction region.The tightening means may take a variety of forms such as retaining orfastening means on the contour modifying member which may be selectivelyengaged with and disengaged from engagement means on the seat and thisengagement may be of positive type, e.g. by virtue of interlockingfastener members, or of non-positive type. Alternatively, the tighteningmeans could be of e.g. overcentre lever type or include a lockableroller onto which a portion of the contour modifying member may berolled when it is desired to modify the contour of the seat.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Further features and details of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description of one specific embodiment which is given by wayof example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a car seat in accordance with the inventionwith a highly schematic representation of an infant seated on it;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the seat; and

FIG. 3 an underneath view of the seat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The body of the seat comprises a one-piece moulding of expanded plasticsmaterial, such as polyurethane. Such material is not only light andstrong but has very substantial impact resistance and thus serves tocushion and protect the infant in the event of a collision. The seatthus has a back support portion 2 which is integral with a leg supportportion 4 and merges with it over a junction region which is generallydesignated 6. The region 6 is relatively sharply curved, that is to sayhas a relatively small radius of curvature, as is usual with seats. Thisis not a problem with relatively large infants but, as explained above,can constitute a problem and even be life threatening for infants with aweight less than about 4 kg and particularly 3.5 or 3 kg. Both the backand leg support portions have relatively high upstanding side edges 8which provide lateral support and protection for the infant. Connectedto the side edges 8 are carrying straps to enable the seat to be carriedwith an infant within it. The seat is provided with a number ofapertures 10 for receiving and locating portions 12 of a safety belt orprotective harness which are connected together, in use, by a buckle orsnap fitting 14. These are generally conventional and form no part ofthe present invention and will therefore not be described in detail. Inuse, the seat will be covered by upholstery and/or padding but this hasbeen omitted from the drawings for the sake of clarity. The underside ofthe seat is located within and secured, e.g. by adhesive to areinforcing rigid shell of e.g. polycarbonate material but this alsobeen omitted from the drawings for the sake of clarity.

As described so far, the car seat is generally conventional. However,the seat also includes a contour modifier which enables the radius ofcurvature of the region 6 to be selectively increased when the seat isto be used by a very small infant. The contour modifier comprises agenerally rectangular sheet 20 of flexible material, e.g. woven materialor a sheet of substantially inextensible plastics material which issecured at its two ends to the back support portion 2 and the legsupport portion 4, respectively. For safety reasons it is preferred thatthe connection at at least one end is permanent, that is to say notreadily releasable and in this case the connections are permanent,though one of them is adjustable. For this purpose the contour modifyingsheet has two lateral longitudinally extending flaps or tongues 22 atits top end. These extend through respective transversely extendingslots 24 in the back support portion. At the rear of the seat thetongues 22 are permanently secured to a locking bar 26, e.g. by formingloops in the ends of the tongues by means of stitching or the like andpassing the bar through the loops. When tension is applied to the sheet20 the bar 26 is drawn into an elongate recess 28 at the rear of theseat and then into contact with the material between the slots 24thereby preventing the tongues 22 from being retracted through theslots. At the other or foot end of the sheet 20 it is provided with twosimilar lateral, longitudinally extending tongues 30 which pass throughsimilar transverse slots 32 formed in the leg support portion 4. Theends of the tongues 30 are again stitched or otherwise secured to formloops through which a common bar 34 extends. Formed in the underside ofthe leg support portion is a downwardly flared recess 36 which extendsacross substantially its entire width. Extending along the edge of therecess 36 on the head support portion side is an elongate projection orledge 38 which affords an engagement surface 40 which extendssubstantially at right angles to the slots 32.

The bar 34 is thus movable between a first or slack position in which itis in engagement with the material of the roof of the recess 36 betweenthe slots 32 and a second or tightened position in which it is inengagement with the engagement surface 40 and the tongues 30 passthrough gaps 41 in the ledge 38. When the bar 34 is in the firstposition the contour modifying sheet occupies the position shown insolid lines in FIG. 1 in which it is in engagement with the internalsurface of the seat. In this configuration the seat is suitable for alarger infant whose weight is in excess of, say, 4 kg but is not verysuitable, for the reasons explained above, for a small infant whoseweight is, say, only 2.5 kg. When the bar 34 is in the second position,the contour modifying sheet 20 occupies the position shown in chainlines in FIG. 1 in which it is spaced from the upper surface of the seatand itself constitutes a support surface. The sheet 20 thus modifies theeffective contour of the seat, that is to say increases the radius ofcurvature of the transition region between the leg and back supportportions of the seat, and renders the seat suitable for use by infantsof low body weight.

I claim:
 1. An infant car seat comprising:a back support portion and aleg support portion; said back support and leg support portions havingrespective retaining means and merging together at a junction region; aflexible contour modifying member having two opposed sides and furtherhaving respective engagement means adjacent each of said opposed sides;said engagement means being engageable with respective ones of saidretaining means to position said contour modifying member in an extendedposition in which it adopts a curved configuration extending betweensaid two retaining means and is spaced from the junction region of saidback support and leg support regions; said contour modifying member,when in said extended position, having a radius of curvature greaterthan that of said junction region; said seat having a rear surface; saidback support and leg support portions each have at least one respectiveslot formed therein through which respective portions of said contourmodifying member extend; and said retaining means and said engagementmeans being situated at the rear surface of said seat.
 2. A seat asclaimed in claim 1, wherein one of said engagement means is inseparablyengaged with the respective one of said retaining means, whereby saidcontour modifying member is not readily removable from said seat.
 3. Aseat as claimed in claim 2, wherein said seat has a rear surface; andwherein said back support and leg support portions each have at leastone respective slot formed therein through which respective portions ofsaid contour modifying member extend; and said retaining means and saidengagement means are situated at the rear surface of said seat.
 4. Aseat as claimed in claim 3, wherein one of said engagement means isinseparably engaged with the respective one of said retaining means,whereby said contour modifying member is not readily removable from saidseat, and wherein said one of said engagement means is connected to theassociated portion of said contour modifying member and is unable topass through the associated one of said slots.
 5. A seat as claimed inclaim 4, wherein the other of said engagement means is connected toassociated portions of said contour modifying member and is unable topass through the associated one of said slots.
 6. A seat as claimed inclaim 4, wherein said portions of said contour modifying member have atube formed in them; said engagement means comprising a respective barreceived in said tube.
 7. A seat as claimed in claim 3, wherein saidportions of said contour modifying member have a tube formed in them;said engagement means comprising a respective bar received in said tube.8. A seat as claimed in claim 3, wherein the other of said engagementmeans is connected to associated portions of said contour modifyingmember and is unable to pass through the associated one of said slots.9. A seat as claimed in claim 8, wherein said portions of said contourmodifying member have a tube formed in them; said engagement meanscomprising a respective bar received in said tube.
 10. A seat as claimedin claim 8, wherein the retaining means associated with the other ofsaid engagement means comprises a surface which is inclined to theassociated one of said slots and which is positioned to be engaged bythe other of said engagement means and to retain it in position.
 11. Aseat as claimed in claim 10, wherein said seat has a rear surface; andwherein said back support and leg support portions each have at leastone respective slot formed therein through which respective portions ofsaid contour modifying member extend; said retaining means and saidengagement means being situated at the rear surface of said seat; andwherein each said slot communicates with an elongate recess on the rearof said seat.
 12. A seat as claimed in claim 3, wherein said contourmodifying member has two sides; each of said sides having twotransversely spaced portions which extend through respective ones ofsaid slots in said back support and leg support portions, respectively.13. A seat as claimed in claim 2, wherein said one of said engagementmeans is connected to the associated portion of said contour modifyingmember and is unable to pass through the associated one of said slots.14. A seat as claimed in claim 13, wherein the other of said engagementmeans is connected to associated portions of said contour modifyingmember and is unable to pass through the associated one of said slots.15. A seat as claimed in claim 14, wherein said portions of said contourmodifying member have a tube formed in them; said engagement meanscomprising a respective bar received in said tube.
 16. A seat as claimedin claim 2, wherein said portions of said contour modifying member havea tube formed in them; said engagement means comprising a respective barreceived in said tube.
 17. A seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidcontour modifying member has two sides; each of said sides having twotransversely spaced portions which extend through respective ones ofsaid slots in said back support and leg support portions, respectively.18. A seat as claimed in claim 1, wherein said contour modifying memberhas two sides; each of said sides having two transversely spacedportions which extend through respective ones of said slots in said backsupport and leg support portions, respectively.